New figures from the Charity Commission reveal current levels of public trust in charities, along with trustee perspectives on their role and the regulator.
Below, we highlight some of the key findings from the 2025 research.
Overall trust in charities
Charities continue to earn the public’s trust, with 57% of people reporting strong confidence – putting the sector just behind doctors in overall rankings.
The key drivers of trust in charities remain as:
- Confidence that donations reach their intended cause; and
- Evidence that the charity is effectively achieving its mission.
Trust in a charity is also shaped by factors including:
- Visibility of money raised and how it has been spent;
- High ethical standards;
- Being a voice for the people or causes it supports;
- Clarity on who runs the charity and is responsible for decision-making;
- Listening to feedback from supporters and those that use the charity; and
- Diversity in leadership, with those in charge having a range of different backgrounds and skills.
A recurring message is the importance of ensuring donations reach their intended destination. Perceived failures in this area are a key driver of diminished trust. Examples of this include:
- Fundraising on the street: concern over how much goes to commission for employees rather than the intended cause;
- CEO’s salaries: negative media exposure involving high salaries for charity executives; and
- Scandals: involving charities that were found to spend less than expected on their core cause.
A charity being regulated is also a key factor in building trust and influencing decisions to donate.
Campaigning does not deter people from supporting a charity – some say they are more supportive because of it. People want to see charities push for long-term change, but they also value immediate help, so a balance between both is seen as important.
Shifts in charity support
Financial support for charities has decreased since the pandemic, with donations falling, even as demand for charitable services has risen sharply over the past five years. In contrast, volunteering has increased post-COVID, with 4 in 10 volunteers, or their family members, maintaining long-term involvement with the charity they support.
The role of the Trustee
Trustees express a high level of confidence in their roles, with 99% reporting they feel ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ confident overall, as well as across various aspects of their responsibilities. Naturally, confidence tends to increase with experience, with longer-serving trustees reporting greater competence in multiple areas.
Even with strong overall confidence, many trustees see room to grow, especially in areas like finance and safeguarding.
Confidence has increased in two key areas – spotting and managing conflicts of interest, and handling finances – both of which have traditionally been areas where trustees have felt less assured.
Trustees generally have a strong understanding of their responsibilities.
- Decision-making principles are well understood, although some confusion remains around conflicts of interest and personal views – only 41% said trustees should never base decisions on personal opinions; and
- 47% of trustees also spend time together socially, which is seen as beneficial for decision-making and improving trustee retention.
Other key takeaways
- Campaigning: Only 22% of trustees say their charity campaigns, with higher rates among larger charities (35% with income over £500k.) The main reason for not campaigning is lack of relevance to the charity’s purpose (80%), not a lack of knowledge or understanding of the rules (both 3%).
- Banking: Issues have slightly decreased (38% in 2025, down from 42% in 2024) but remain a concern for many charities. Updating contact details and signatories is still the most common problem (30%).
- Cost-of-living: 46% of trustees reported their charity made changes due to the cost-of-living crisis in the past year, and 55% expect to make further adaptations, most commonly by seeking new funding sources (34%).
The complete Research into public trust in charities and research with charity trustees 2025 can be found here.
